DGCA did not find any fault in the switch
Jagran News Network, New Delhi. No fault has been found in the fuel control switch of Air India's Boeing 787 'Dreamliner' aircraft coming from London to Bengaluru on Sunday. Aviation regulator DGCA made this claim after investigating the affected aircraft under its supervision.
Air India has once again started precautionary inspection of fuel control switches of its entire Dreamliner fleet. According to sources, the switches complaining of malfunction will be sent to the original company (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for replacement.
It is said that after the flight (AI 132) took off from London's Heathrow Airport on Sunday, the fuel control switch of the left engine of the aircraft automatically went into 'cutoff' mode. According to the pilots, the fuel switch was brought to 'run' mode twice, but it automatically returned to 'cutoff' mode. On the third attempt the switch locked in 'Run' mode.
The case was reported after landing in Bengaluru. However, the question is also why the risk was taken to bring the plane to Bengaluru when the switch problem was detected soon after take off from London.
After investigation, aviation regulator DGCA said that no fault was found in the fuel control switch of the aircraft nor any complaint was found in its related parameters, caution, warning or other related systems during engine operation or at any other time.
According to Prater, Air India's Senior Vice President, Flight Operations, Manish Uppal has informed all the pilots through e-mail and the engineering team has requested Boeing to resolve the issue on priority basis. Rechecking of the fuel control switch latch has been initiated to ensure normal operation pending an official response from Boeing.
Also, the company has asked the crew to immediately report any malfunctions found during operation and complete all necessary checks before taking the aircraft on flight.
It is noteworthy that even after the Ahmedabad accident on June 12 last year, Air India has got these switches checked several times. 260 passengers lost their lives in this accident. Initial investigation considered a possible malfunction of the fuel control switch as the main cause, although the final report is still pending.
According to ANI, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) President Captain CS Randhawa has demanded an immediate investigation from the DGCA and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into possible electrical faults in the Boeing 787 aircraft. They say this is the third known incident in which uncontrolled movement of the fuel control switch was recorded—the first occurred on a February 17, 2019, ANA flight in Osaka, the second reportedly occurred in the June 12, 2025 Ahmedabad accident, and the third occurred on a recent London–Bengaluru flight.
What is fuel control switch?
The fuel control switches are located near the thrust lever in the cockpit of the aircraft. These control the supply of fuel to the engine. Their main function is to start (run position) or stop (cutoff position) the fuel supply to the engine.
Fuel control switches are spring-loaded and have a detent (a type of lock) that keeps them held in place. There is a separate fuel control switch for each engine.
For example, a Boeing 787 has two engines, so there will be two switches - one for the left engine, one for the right. There are three steps to changing the switch position - holding, taking it out of the detent and releasing it by changing the position.
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